I'm using a one-hundred-year-old score and there are no pedal markings in it, either. Thanks for the tips, though, Andrew. I've been accused of being too 'notey' before, so this is probably why you said my runs sound detached. That video of Zimerman is really great. Thanks for directing me to it - I learned so many things by watching/listening to it. What a great job he does on this piece! Well, I guess now all I have to do is just practice some more...ok, a lot more....ugh!

_________________"Simplicity is the highest goal, achievable when you have overcome all difficulties." ~ Frederic Chopin

I don't think pedalling is the main issue here. I think you're not quite playing legato: you're letting go of one key a split second before the next one goes down. Of course it's very hard to measure this precisely. If you want a smoother sound then you need to aim for legatissimo: that is, not releasing the key until after the next one goes down. This is easier to achieve if you play with flatter fingers.

More important though is, as Andrew says, more rise and fall within the phrases. Legato on the piano is of course an illusion--we'll never sound as smooth as a good violin, even if we hold the pedal down--and dynamics are our most valuable tool in creating the illusion. You might find, if you shape the phrases appropriately, that your clear and bubbly articulation can sound just fine.

Thanks, Alexander, for also making me think about this legato thing. Probably if I can get my tempo up a little bit, then it does not matter. Or more like legato does not factor into the equation if the fingers are moving so fast that you simply cannot hold down a key while you press down the next key....hope that makes sense. More rise and fall, and more dynamics - Ok, I will work on those things.

_________________"Simplicity is the highest goal, achievable when you have overcome all difficulties." ~ Frederic Chopin

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